Economics

Ph.D. Program Components

The Ph.D. program is flexible and adaptable to individual student interests and circumstances. The program is intended to prepare students for teaching or research positions in academia, the government sector, or private industry. It is designed to provide rigorous training in the areas of microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, mathematical economics, and econometrics. In addition, each student selects a major area of specialization for intensive study and research. Among the areas in which Ph.D. students may specialize are international economics, monetary theory and policy, labor economics, health economics, economic history, history of economic thought, industrial organization, urban and regional economics, public finance, economic theory, mathematical economics, and econometrics.

The University requires 72 semester hours of graduate credit for the Ph.D. degree. Assuming a normal academic load of nine or more hours per semester and no credit for previous graduate work, the usual time required to complete the degree is five years.

Students need not have an undergraduate degree in economics to enter and successfully complete the Ph.D. program, nor are foreign language studies required for the Ph.D. A master's degree is not a prerequisite for the Ph.D. diploma, but an M.A. in economics or an allied field may be earned concurrently with the doctoral degree. Students typically satisfy the requirements of the M.A. degree in economics with successful completion of the first two years of doctoral studies.

In keeping with the important role of mathematical tools in modern economic analysis, the Ph.D. program contains a relatively heavy quantitative emphasis in the core course sequence. But subsequent area courses allow for specialization in less quantitative fields as well as those requiring more mathematics.

The three components of the Ph.D. program are a coordinated sequence of core courses (24 semester hours), a set of field courses (24 semester hours), and a dissertation. Up to 15 semester hours of credit are allowed for dissertation research.

Field Courses
Graduate Credit
Qualifying Examinations and Papers
Teaching and Research